We (OK, I) have savored these past few weeks of a full house, but bird's gotta fly, so this week, we cram every favorite that we can muster into one golden week. School's in session, and even though you know in your heart that this is exactly what your birdies are supposed to be doing, we are (again, I am) definitely at the corner of bitter and sweet this week.

FridayPapa Chevo's. If you are ever in Marina, CA, this is a modest taco stop next to a gas station. Their breakfast burritos are fantastic, particularly the chorizo, and in case you didn't see it on Instagram, Carne Asada French Fries is genius.

Weekly meal planning, the improved and more organized method, is entering its second week. I wonder how long it will last? We are not meatless this week, but I am stretching 1/2 pound of very thinly sliced pork over two meals. And successfully feeding two teenagers, one of whom I'm pretty sure has a hollow leg.

Almost Meatless MondayPan-fried noodles. To feed a family of 4, I'm using 1/4 pound of thinly sliced pork, 6 bunches of baby bok choy, a large red pepper, 3 portabella mushrooms and a large zucchini. Family is happy.

TuesdaySimple Spaghetti Sauce and Meatballs. Awhile back, I made a humongous batch of meatballs and I'm cashing in that production this week. I'm also trying out San Marzano tomatoes. Is it worth all the fuss and higher price?

Pickle mango. I BOUGHT green mangoes. I PAID MONEY for them. My Hawaii ohana is shaking their heads and ex-pat Hawaii people--feel my angst! It will be worth it for the first sweet/salty bite of fresh pickle mango.

Reflecting on all of those whose sacrifices allow us to be here. Have a good week all!

Rain and colder temperatures together with a busier-than-usual family and for for-hire client schedule mean dinner needs to be warm and made very efficiently.

Tortilla Soup. Fast, warm and happy.

Takeout MondayI was in San Francisco with a client until 10PM last night, so it was El Pollo Loco chicken by request for my Mother-in-Law. There is no El Pollo Loco in Hawaii so when she visits, this is a must-do.

TuesdayTortilla Soup, using the leftover El Pollo Loco chicken. We haven't had this in awhile. We have some absolutely bee-you-tee-ful homegrown avocado from a friend, as well as pepper jack cheese for sprinkling.

What's good about winter rain in California? Lots of green. As in lettuce, choy greens, mizuna, spinach and arugula. I have already consulted with the household carnivore, and as a bonus, we are meatless twice this week. Here's how we are going green this week.

MondayMyles Last Resort Meatloaf, salad and cheese buns from the Cheese Board Collective on Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley. After the tofu-loaf fiasco, it's time for reliable, 'normal' meatloaf. The ironic thing is that the ingredients for the good loaf and the very bad loaf are quite similar. Leaf of the day: romaine lettuce for salad.

This post is dedicated to all college kids (and a few in particular) who are now living the dream of off-campus apartment living.

Ah, yes. The freedom of selecting exactly what you want to eat. No more mass-produced, pre-selected dorm food to be eaten at specified times.

The reality of which quickly becomes, "Oh (appropriate college-level profanity here)!? I have to cook! And wash dishes!? And buy food?! Hello, Mom!?"

A friend of mine has a child is in just such a predicament, with two vegetarian roomies thrown in, just for some added fun.

Do not despair, or worse yet, whine. Armed with a salad spinner, rice cooker, a non stick pan, a non-stick spatula and a baking sheet, you will neither starve nor burn through your parents' money eating out.

Feeding Your Ohana 101: Staples you should always try to have in-house

Spices & SeasonersGarlic. This makes everything better Coarse sea salt. Say no to refined saltBlack pepper. The kind you can grind on your ownOlive oil. For general-purpose cookingCanola oil. For when you decide to fry something, and you willShoyu (soy sauce). Low-sodium, green label Kikkoman is my favoriteRoasted sesame seed oil. Dynasty or Kadoya brandOyster sauceSriracha sauce. Look for the rooster on the label. He is your friend.White vinegar. Buy a gallon and you can also use it to clean your floors. When you clean them.Balsamic vinegar. Impress your friendsBrown sugar. For homemade teriyaki sauceWhite sugar. If you bake. A mom can dream!

OptionalCooking sherry and ginger

Generally non-perishable itemsOnions. Technically perishable, but they last a long time and you will use them a lotRice. White or brown short grain, Koda Farms if you can Quinoa.That you can cook in your rice cooker"Noodley" type pasta like linguine"Shaped" pasta like penne, farfalle, or elbowsNuts. Pine nuts, walnuts and cashewsDried cranberries. Good to toss into saladsBread. Add cheese and it's a sandwich

Perishable Items--stored in the fridgeEggsReal butterCheese. Parmesan and your favorite for sandwichesYogurtFirm tofu. If you and your roomies can make peace with itA bottle each of lime and lemon juice. Fresh are always preferable, but these are good to have on standby

What you can make with the above supplies plus a trip to the grocery store for fresh produce.

The weekly menu is a little late due to a cross-country flights from New England. It takes nearly 10 hours of total time to get from Providence, RI to the SF Bay Area. If you were to continue back to Hawaii, it would take another 5 1/2 hour flight. I can't believe this is what I did to go to school.

MondayTakeout Chinese. Although I did manage to get my son to soccer practice, I spent most of the day trying not to fall asleep at inopportune times. Hence, the Diet Coke/Dimsum appetizer. Thankfully, my totally awesome husband brought back my favorite Chinese food for dinner.

TuesdayZaru soba topped with green onions and perhaps kamaboko. Plus the rest of the Chinese food.

WednesdayRomescu Chicken.Thinking this will be made as a salad or open-face sandwich with lettuce and cukes.

ThursdayWhole wheat pasta and tofu with coconut curry sauce, a riff onCooking Light's Beef Soba Noodles. The original recipe got only bell curve reviews, but has a lot of potential with the ingredients--coconut milk, lime, honey, curry powder...in other words, the perfect baseline to tinker with.

ExtrasTo use the lemons and cukes and to keep the teenagers in checkSummer Water, gobs of it as a thirst-quencher.Lovely Lemon Curd, because it plays well with so summer berries and stone fruitFresh cut watermelonSpinach dip for crackers, carrots and cukesAnother batch of Kale Chips, trying a sesame oil/furikake version.

It didn't just drizzle today. It poured. For the Bay Area in June, this is just plain weird. This is fitting, considering Monday's meal.

MondayLeftover Group Project Dinner. 3 large pizzas, half a watermelon, a bag of chips, 2 dozen cookies, a gallon of juice and 7 teenagers came over for lunch and a group project.

1 entire pizza was left. How is this even possible? 6 of them were girls, and the boy left early. They are coming back tomorrow, so I'll need to stock up again.

Perfect purple rice

TuesdayKorean Chicken Soup, kim chee and purple rice. Perfect for a soggy post-rainy day in June. We'll see how the group project kids feel about this meal! Plan B for the teenagers is a full loaf of bread, roasted turkey and Havarti cheese.

WednesdayEven when I go out to dinner, I still like to make sure the teenagers and the husband don't starve. So Grandma Nancy's Braised Beef is perfect because they can manage the final 15 minutes in the oven. Even better, a Facebook-Feeding-My-Ohana pal does this in a crock pot. And she will send me her cooking instructions for this method soon. Hint, hint.

ThursdaySalmon and Grape Sauce. This has been lounging in the Greenhouse for far too long. Salmon and grapes are in season. I also have a kale salad recipe that sounds too good not to try. It's kale, walnuts, cranberries and feta cheese.

FridayChicken Adobo, salad and rice. Just something simple to finish out a weird week.

I've gotten new recipes from my clients today, so we'll have to queue those up this week sometime too.

Because Mom has been continuing her tour of Bay Area eateries, including a second tofu house, there have been a lot of leftovers for dinner. This week's selection included dim sum, Korean tofu house #2, and Japanese curry.

I actually missed making dinner. So here's what cooking for the rest of the week.

Sides were purple rice (more on this later), gochu-jang sesame mayo, bean sprouts, lettuce and sliced cucumbers. Kim chee on the side, of course. I started at 5:30. We were eating at 6:30. In between, I was able to Facebook and send a few emails for work.

There is a about 10 minutes of prep the night before, and I also made a trip to the Korean grocery store, also *before* I started this meal (See "Look Before You Cook"). The nice ladies at Hankook Korean Market were happy to recommend the appropriate spice level of gochu-jang and give explicit instructions for purple/black rice.

First, purple rice is brown or white rice with a bit of Korean black rice. Black rice costs about $4 and one package will last a long time. Buying it came with two very stern warnings.1) It will stain absolutely everything and 2) Add only a little bit to brown or white rice. I used 2 cups of brown rice and half a handful of black rice in the rice cooker. It makes it a pretty color and gives it a little flavor and more texture. All good things.

Second, gochu-jang sauce is Korean chili sauce. It's the consistency of miso paste and has a very slightly sweet undertone. There are levels of gochu-jang hotness, and I was instructed to get the medium hot version. I'm planning on using more of it for spicy tofu and another Korean chicken experiment later this week.

Household was very happy and requested leftovers for lunch. Click here for the complete recipe.

I owe my parents big time for making 'any kine' food, and not just what my sisters and I preferred. Whether I liked something or not was irrelevant. Dad liked it, it was good for you, and starving children in the far reaches of the world would gratefully consume your creamed tuna or daikon greens, thank you very much. You ate what was made.

I came to appreciate this when my babies started having food opinions. This newby parent was convinced that her piteously hungry children would starve or worse yet, be emotionally scarred for being forced to eat something that didn't appeal to their largely untested and extremely limited toddler palates. At that point, my pediatrician said, "Look at that child's thighs. If he misses a meal he will most definitely not starve. Do not short-order cook for your children. Think of how you ate as a child." Did I mention I love my pediatrician?

Epiphany.Meals at my parents house were as much about trying new foods as nourishment. Their neighbors and friends were Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Haole, Hapa, Hawaiian...and we were always getting something new to add to the dinner table.

So this week is inspired by spending a week back at Mom's table. Picky eaters are welcome and most certainly will not starve.

MondayNot the Colonel's KFC. The kids had doctor's appointments and Bon Chon Korean Fried Chicken is next to the doctor's office. This is a happy coincidence, and not how I chose my children's doctor. Rounded out with plain rice, nori, green beans and a green salad.

WednesdayWatercress soup. Mom made this last week on a 'chilly' O'ahu day when we were all still feeling icky from colds and jet lag. Everyone was happy and slept well that day. Will post the recipe later this week.

ThursdayHuli Huli chicken, broccoli and musubi. Just because we can't go to the beach doesn't mean we can't have beach food.

FridayTofu-tuna burgers. I know, "tofu," "tuna" and "burger" in the same breath makes your head want to explode. If that's not enough, I have to throw in "carrots" and "shiitake." It sounds odd, but tastes really great. Think of it as a kind of hash.